Columbus East Monica McMahon is The Republic Girls Wrestler of the Year. She is pictured in the wrestling room at Columbus East High School in Columbus, Ind., Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
Monica McMahon etched herself into the history books at Columbus East.
With this being the first year of girls wrestling as an IHSAA-sanctioned sport, McMahon made the most out of her senior season. She captivated it by winning the state championship at 190 pounds last month in leading the Olympians to the team title.
It was definitely a journey for McMahon the past four years. She and her twin sister Grace followed in the footsteps of their brother Pat, a 2023 East graduate that wrestled on the team. It was Pat that inspired Monica to get full-fledged into wrestling.
Monica and Grace spent the past few years practicing during the boys team practices, with Pat leading the way.
“Pat was the very first coach I had because Grace and I, the first day we went in there, Pat was there teaching us how to take shots,” said Monica McMahon, The Republic Girls Wrestler of the Year. “(Boys wrestling) coach (Chris) Cooper took us under his wing. They didn’t see us as the boys team or the girls team. They saw us as Columbus East wrestling. We were all one community.”
McMahon started the girls wrestling team a couple years ago, and it has grown into a full-fledged team, something McMahon thought never might happened until the IHSAA made girls wrestling an Emerging Sport.
McMahon started recruiting girls to give wrestling a try. Last year, there were eight girls on the team.
“She was a founder for girls wrestling. She saw the writing on the wall, as well with the other coaches, that the girls are going to have their time and it’s going to be sanctioned eventually. It’s something she’s been around with her older brother wrestling,” East girls wrestling coach Ty Olds said. “She had a little nice foundation. She did a great job of getting people to come out and being a great leader. You couldn’t have asked for anyone better to start the program.”
McMahon, along with the other girls wrestlers, were elated last year when it was announced that girls wrestling was named an official sport.
“It made me have tons of pride, not only for the East team, but for women’s sports in general just because I always sat on the sidelines of my brother’s wrestling meets,” McMahon said. “For us to finally have this equal opportunity, this spotlight, it was really emotional for me. It’s propelled me into my future. I want to stand up for women’s sports, and I want to continue this growth and equality.”
McMahon excelled on the mat all year for the Olympians, but it didn’t mean she had learning lessons along the way. Her very first match of the year wasn’t what she pictured. While she won the match, she reflected on a lot of things she could improve on if she wanted to reach her ultimate goal.
“I went on the mat scared worrying about my opponent and tried to control things I couldn’t control,” she explained. “From that point, I had to get better at those things, so it was controlling what I could control and doing my best and not worrying about what the opponent is doing. I had to do my own thing.”
McMahon did just that. She cruised all the way to the state championship and won the title at 190 pounds, finishing the year undefeated at 33-0.
“Her work ethic was second to none,” Olds said. “She is the hardest worker in the room and the hardest worker out of the room. She did everything you could ask of someone, training-wise. She put the time in that I think was necessary to be able to achieve a lofty goal like that. You could see it coming, even last year, starting off with a lot of natural ability. She had good instincts on the mat, and then start putting that with her dedication in the weight room, she didn’t miss practice, and she was there all the time. I think you put those things together, and it equates to a state title.”
McMahon hopes girls wrestling continues to grow in Columbus.
“We are already hosting open mats for other girls around town to come in and give it a try, even some seniors who are graduating this year that want to give it one try. It’s more than just competing. The bonds that you build, the people are now taking a real look at wrestling as a sport. They love it as a sport. I hope women’s wrestling can grow in Columbus exponentially.”
McMahon plans to wrestle at Indiana Tech next year and to study recreational therapy. She is happy with how her wrestling career has gone so far.
“My freshman year, I never would have guessed I was on the women’s wrestling team. I would have assumed I either did volleyball or speech and debate for all four years,” she said. “I joined it, and now, we have all this success and all of this passion, this love and this family. I really think we made a difference at East. It brought all those sports programs together because we have the same duals as the boys team. It brought a spotlight on not just the women’s wrestling but to wrestling as a whole. Our student sections have grown, our sport has grown and everyone knows us as wrestlers, so it is fantastic.”
The 2024-25 Republic All-Area Girls Wrestling team:
Monica McMahon, Columbus East: The senior won the West Washington Sectional, Mooresville Regional and state titles at 190 pounds.
Saige Plummer, Columbus East: The senior won a sectional title and finished second in the regional and second at state at 125 pounds.
Grace McMahon, Columbus East: The senior won sectional and regional titles and finished third at state at 170 pounds.
Maddie Shrader, Columbus East: The sophomore finished second in the sectional, fourth in the regional and fourth at state at 235 pounds.
Eden Knight, Columbus East: The senior finished second in the sectional and regional and seventh at state at 145 pounds.
Maddie Swartzentruber, Columbus East: The senior finished second in the sectional and third in the regional and was a state qualifier at 135 pounds.
Madison Mount, Columbus East: The senior finished second in the sectional and fourth in the regional and was a state qualfier at 130 pounds.
Tienica Dits, Columbus East: The sophomore finished third in the sectional and fourth in the regional and was a state qualifier at 100 pounds.
Vika Konovalenko, Columbus North: The freshman finished second in the West Washington Sectional and Mooresville Regional and was a state qualifier at 120 pounds.
Bresa Coan, Jennings County: The senior won the Floyd Central Sectional, finished third in the regional and seventh at state at 235 pounds.
Violeta Gomez-Hilerio, Jennings County: The junior won the Floyd Central Sectional, finished fourth in the regional and was a state qualifier at 120 pounds.
Sasha Hicks, Jennings County: The senior won the Floyd Central Sectional, finished fourth in the regional and was a state qualifer at 115 pounds.
Honorable mention
Columbus East: Lucy Destin, Issabel Wakefield. Jennings County: Savannah Bannister, Katherine Brunner, Jada Duley, Baylee Franks, Gabrella Hernandez, Karli Ledbetter, Eliza Leslie, Molly Wathen, Harlie Winningham.
